The top-of-the-line among the three new iPhones Apple introduced Tuesday, it certainly looked intriguing shown off from the stage of the new glass-topped Steve Jobs Theater. And I'm still intrigued after picking the phone up for the first time, in a crowded hands-on demo area. There’s little doubt iPhone fans, many of whom have held off purchasing while waiting for this one, will want it.

They'll have to wait until Nov. 3. CEO Tim Cook didn’t explain the delay, but the bet here is that much speculated supply constraints are in play. Pre-orders start Oct. 27.

It's a showstopper, the first iPhone with a beautiful edge-to-edge 5.8-inch OLED display, with either 64GB or 256GB storage, starting at $999 or $1,149 for the higher capacity. Apple calls the high resolution (2436 by 1125) screen a "super retina" display. The phone, which has a glass front and back, will come in silver or space gray.

As was expected, Apple removed the home button in favor of the ability to unlock the device through a biometric method known as Face ID. Apple claims this is so secure, the chance that any other person could unlock your device is 1 in 1 million, compared to one in 50,000 for the Touch ID fingerprint sensor.

Cook has been at pains to show Apple under his watch can extend the design innovation that made Apple devices the most sought after on the planet. In this particular feature, Apple is far from the first.

Rival Samsung lets you unlock certain Galaxy models by gazing at the screen with your iris. In my experience, Samsung’s approach works most of the time but not all the time, so it’ll be interesting to see how Apple’s Face ID compares.

With Touch ID having gone AWOL with the disappearing home button, you’ll be able to use Face ID, Apple says, to purchase stuff through Apple Pay. It’ll be critical to work well. If there are hiccups with the feature, that could turn people who off who are still reluctant to use Apple Pay or who find (as I do) how easy it is currently with a fingerprint.

The absence of the home button means you'll have to break other habits. On the new phone you navigate home by swiping up from the bottom of the display, which in turn means changing the way you access Control Center, and for that matter how you access multitasking. On the X, you'll be able to summon Siri by pressing a side button (or as now by using a "Hey Siri" vocal command).

The second thing you might try is a fun feature: using your face to create what are animated emojis or animojis. I got to do just that. Make an angry face and your animated emoji copies your facial expression. Show a surprised look instead. Again, the emoji responds in kind. You can add audio, too. Is it practical? No. Will it be a crazy hit? I'm guessing yes.

Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing, announces features of the new iPhone 8 at the Steve Jobs Theater on the new Apple campus on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017, in Cupertino, Calif.(Photo: Mario Jose Sanchez/AP)

The iPhone X also should benefit from improved cameras, along with a portrait lighting feature that launches in beta. It promises studio lighting effects to bolster the backgrounds on the portraits you take, and will work on both the front and rear cameras of the iPhone X. Also coming to the iPhone X is wireless charging (through charger accessories that adhere to a standard known as Qi).

Apple is late to wireless charging but better late than never. And perhaps because rivals including Samsung got to wireless charging first, Apple provided a sneak peek at something it calls AirPower. It's an accessory coming next year that will let you charge three devices you plunk down on a pad simultaneously, including an iPhone, Apple Watch Series 3 (also announced today) and Apple AirPods.

Speaking of the battery, Apple claims battery life on the X last two hours longer than on the iPhone 7.

Apple also introduced a new all-glass iPhone 8 with a 4.7-inch Retina display and an 8 Plus with a 5.5-inch display, both of which add advanced camera photo skills, wireless charging and other features to the iPhones they appear to be modeled after, last year’s 7 and 7 Plus.

Posted!

A link has been posted to your Facebook feed.

The new iPhone X is displayed during an Apple special event at the Steve Jobs Theatre on the Apple Park campus on September 12, 2017 in Cupertino, California. Apple held their first special event at the new Apple Park campus where they announced the new iPhone 8, iPhone X and the Apple Watch Series 3.
Justin Sullivan, Getty Images

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak motions to a camera ahead of a media event where Apple is expected to announce a new iPhone and other products in Cupertino, Calif. on Sept. 12, 2017.
Josh Edelson, AFP/Getty Images

Attendees photograph the Steve Jobs Theatre at Apple Park on Sept. 12, 2017 in Cupertino, Calif.. Apple is holding their first special event at the new Apple Park campus where they are expected to unveil a new iPhone.
Justin Sullivan, Getty Images

An employee guards the entrance at Apple's new visitor center during an announcement of new products Sept. 12, 2017.
The unveiling of the dramatically redesigned iPhone will likely be the marquee moment as Apple hosts its first event at its new Cupertino, Calif., headquarters.
Marcio Jose Sanchez, AP

Apple sent out invitations on August 31, 2017 to a first-ever media event in the Steve Jobs Theater at its new 'spaceship' campus in Silicon Valley. The keenly anticipated event set for September 12 is expected to star iPhone models marking the tenth anniversary of the culture-changing smartphones. In trademark style, Apple revealed little in the invitation that provided the date, time, location and a message that read 'Let's meet at our place.'
This file image shows an aerial view of the new Apple headquarters on April 28, 2017 in Cupertino, California.
Justin Sullivan, Getty Images

In this Monday, June 5, 2017, file photo, a person takes a photo of an Apple logo before an announcement of new products at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose, Calif.
Marcio Jose Sanchez, AP

In this Sept. 9, 2015 file photo, a man walks past the Apple logo during a product display for Apple TV following an Apple event in San Francisco. Television is one of the few screens that has Apple hasn't conquered, but that may soon change. The world's richest company appears ready to set out to produce Emmy-worthy programming along the lines of HBO's 'Game of Thrones' and Netflix's 'Stranger Things.'
Eric Risberg, AP